The heartbroken family of three-time killer Colin McDonald’s first victim have admitted that his actions have "destroyed our lives".

Jonathan Tripp, a gifted 27-year-old accountant, drowned in 1997 after McDonald pushed him into the Rochdale canal, near Minshull Street.

The Manchester Evening News reports that a week earlier the last picture of Jonathan was taken back home in Ireland with his family.

He is proudly hugging his brother Simon’s first born, Rachel, aged one, to whom he was godfather.

McDonald, from Denton, was jailed for six years for manslaughter - and then went on to be jailed for causing death by careless driving after running over 38-year-old Wayne Leary, and for which he received an 18 months sentence in 2010.

Scene: Jonathan Tripp was pushed into Rochdale Canal in Manchester, pictured, in 1997 where he drowned (Image: MEN)

He will now be sentenced later this month for the manslaughter of Dominic Doyle, who was stabbed to death outside a pub in Denton.

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Simon, along with Jonathan's sister Jessica, say the family were stunned to discover McDonald had killed again.

“It was a shock, to put it mildly, to see that he was up again for it. It is disgraceful. It is a joke. How is he able to walk the streets again? It seems that living on the outside does not suit him. He would be better off behind bars - he would be less of a menace to society.”

Jonathan, who studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, had just landed a job with a top Manchester law firm when he was killed.

Simon said: "It has destroyed our family. Time helps you live with it better, but you never heal. The last picture taken of Jonathan was with my first born. He was her godfather - he couldn’t have been prouder. Together the two of them lit up.

Second victim: McDonald ran over and killed Wayne Leary in 2010 before fleeing the scene (Image: Cavendish Press)

"We have been robbed of that, and I have been robbed of a brother - for no reason.

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“They didn’t even get anything when they tried to rob him. They took his life and got away lightly. We were devastated when McDonald was sentenced.

“At the time we were not capable as a family of making an impact statement. It was 19 years ago but there is not a day that passes when Jonathan is not in our thoughts.

“He had landed the perfect job, he had found his niche. He was doing well. It had all come together, and he loved the people he was working with.

“A week before he died he had come home to Ireland for Easter - which was when the picture was taken.”

Third victim: Dominic Doyle, pictured, was stabbed to death outside Hughes' Bar in Denton, Manchester

He added: “Maybe if we had said something 19 years ago things might have been different. My heart goes out to his other two victims. It is shocking. We can understand what they are going through. It should never be allowed to happen again.

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“I would call for the maximum sentence to be imposed on McDonald this time, with no chance of early release. He should serve his time. He was released early from his sentence for killing Jonathan for good behaviour.

“I am hoping that public opinion might help the job to impose the sentence he deserves.

“Our lives were turned upside down and it took me years to come to terms with it.”

And sister Jessica added: "I was so young when it happened, how can an 11 year old process a death in the family let alone my big brother and the manner in which he was taken from us.

"Even to this day I find it hard to think about and process. I relieve that horrible Saturday morning all the time. I hear my mother crying. Those sounds of utter heartache and devastation never leave you.

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"The second I saw him I would always run up and jump into his arms. I can't do that any more because that "man" stole him from our lives.

"My heart goes out to all those other families who he has affected and destroyed. No one should go through this. I pray with all my heart and soul that justice can be finally done and put him where he belongs."

The family spoke out after the MEN reported this week how friends of Jonathan from his MMU days said they believed McDonald should be jailed for life.

Jonathan was living in Burnage at the time of his death but originally was from Dun Laoghaire in Ireland.

Simon said: “He was great fun. He was very sociable. Everyone that came into contact with him loved him. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He never did a wrong thing in his life.”